Friday, June 25, 2010

The It Job Market And Competition

The information technology (IT) job market has been on an increase for several years. With the increased necessity of technical developments and widespread use, people with skills that correlate with this field have been in high demand. However, as time goes on and competition floods the market, instability of the IT market is becoming more apparent.

For the better part of the last decade, IT careers have been at the top of the list of fastest growing positions. This is still the case with economists touting growth of close to 50% in some IT fields in the upcoming years. However, although the number of positions available may be increasing, the number of applicants for those positions is also increasing exponentially. As with any market, competition and over-supply causes prices, in this case salaries, to drop. Therefore, IT jobs may be available, but they are paying less and require more flexibility than they once did.

Another factor to consider in the IT market is the fact that so many American jobs are going overseas. While this was previously restricted to light industrial positions, with time it is also expanding to include a plethora of other types of jobs. In the last years, more IT jobs are also being completed in other countries because foreign workers are often available for considerably less pay. Therefore, it is not only competition among native IT workers, but foreign opposition that is affecting the IT job market as well.

Yet another issue that has affected the IT job market was the effect of September 11 on the availability of jobs. While the market has had time to recover, it has not fully regained its footing after the dip in the economy. This may be due to a combination of competition and the outsourcing of IT jobs.

With all of these factors being taken into account, the instability of the IT market becomes clear. Although the market is increasing, which is great news for the economy in general, it may not translate into easier job placement for IT workers. In fact, the opposite is true; too much competition has made placement in this field arduous at best.


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